Letter
What tribute can friendship bestow
That we can appreciate better
Than gems of affection that glow
On each written page of a letter?
What treasures that fortune can give
Has half the pleasure imparted;
That flows from the lines we receive
From those that we know are true hearted?
Go, bring from the depths of the mine
The diamond that sparkles the brightest;
Go, bring from the sea --maiden's shrine--
The pearl that is purest and whitest.
Go, gather the trophies of art
That burnish the hall of a nation;
They'll wake no response in the heart
Of one in the lowliest station.
Like the dear little missive of love
Which cheers the lone hour of dejection,
And comes with its solace to prove
The depth and the strength of affection.
Let others in craftness take
The pearls that are brought from the ocean,
But give me the letters that wake
A thrill of delightful emotion.
There's nothing that friends can bestow,
Which my heart can appreciate better
Than gems of affection that glow
On each written page of a letter.
--From Penman's Art Journal, Vol.1-No.1, Pottsville, PA, March 1877